The danger of repealing the ACA without a replacement plan: The impact of the ACA on access to healthcare among adults with chronic conditions in the United States

In the United States, about 117 million adults suffer chronic diseases, representing about 50% of the nation’s adult population.This number is projected to grow to 157 million by 2020, among which 81 million have more than one chronic condition.People with chronic conditions face substantial out-of-pocket costs of their care. According to the CDC, people with chronic diseases or conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and arthritis received only 55% of recommended healthcare. In 2010 the Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) designed to provide affordable insurance coverage for millions of Americans who otherwise lack of financial means to access healthcare. One of the significant provisions of the ACA is that individuals with preexisting conditions cannot be denied coverage or benefits, or charged prohibitively high premium rates. Following ACA’s implementation millions of uninsured received coverage through Medicaid expansions in 29 states as of March 2015 and through the Marketplaces under the ACA that provided subsidized coverage for purchase. Since Present Trump took office, several attempts have made to “repeal and replace” the ACA that was criticized for its employer and individual mandate penalty, limited participation of insurers in the ACA’s insurance exchanges Marketplaces, rising insurance premiums, and medical device innovation tax. The purpose of this study is to examine the consequences of repealing the ACA without a “replacement” plan for individuals with chronic conditions by assessing the following main issue: The impact of the ACA on access to healthcare among individuals with chronic conditions